It’s Like Riding a Bike

Throughout the history of the world, the great teachers have all used metaphors, parables, and stories to present their points. There is a reason all of the great religions use narratives to detail virtuous living. Metaphors allow us to reflect on our own practices and beliefs without a direct affront to who we are and what we do. A well crafted metaphor allows us to make associations and allow our minds to craft deeper, more lasting understanding of often complex ideas and circumstances.
As educators we should seek ways to incorporate metaphors into our classrooms and into our daily practice. As an administrator I use metaphors to show relationships between real world practices and the artificial environments we often create in schools. As teachers we must embrace our student’s drive, desire, and ability to take chances in a safe and secure environment. We must motivate and celebrate. We must set goals and allow for learning to occur even through temporary failure. For too often we have made school so completely isolated from the real world that as educators we lost sight of what our primary mission is. If we want a kid to learn to swim, we put him in the water. If we want a student to be prepared for the world, we need to put him in the world. We have to get beyond crafting buildings and classrooms that are so far removed from any real life setting that our students gain no real knowledge of how to apply learning and thinking strategies in their future.
To move our students into an environment of supportive risk taking, we as lead learners must do likewise. It’s not enough for us to simply encourage risk taking with our students. We must be willing to do so ourselves and to find others who will lift us up when we fall. Teachers must be willing to have conversations with their peers. I know this is terrifying for so many of you. Actually speaking your mind and challenging the status quo can be difficult. Still others may look at this and think, “that’s a piece of cake. I have no problem talking to my peers. I always get what I want”. This may be exactly why so many others are afraid of it.
There are always those who enter a conversation with a predetermined will to get their way and others who walk in with no desire to debate. This is not about imposing one person’s will and desires on others. It is about allowing a rich, open conversation about the destinies of children. Teachers must be prepared to debate their personal feelings, to share their own biases, to explain why they believe standards, engagement, assessments, really any instructional practice implemented in their room is important. There will be debate. There will be compromise. There will be minds that are changed and there may be some conflict. Change is difficult, especially in schools run by people who were so good at playing school when they were kids. But today’s kids are different and so are their needs. As teachers, as leaders, as change agents and destiny shapers, we must embrace our power to decide both what and how our students will learn from us. Sometimes, using a well crafted metaphor is all that is needed to get the dialogue started.